Detectives outline evidence found at home of murder victim, suspect

Published: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 1:27 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 1, 2013 at 1:27 p.m.

A clue of a tattoo and a bit of luck helped detectives in their search for a suspect in the murder of 21-year-old mother-to-be Misty Lynn Carter, whose body was found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2009.

They had 48 hours to crack the case before it would start to grow cold, Detective Jeff Eaton of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office testified Friday. After about 24 or 48 hours, he said, evidence starts to "perish."

Within 48 hours, the detectives had the victim and her car and had entered the home she shared with 39-year-old Jermaine Deprie Glover, now charged with first-degree murder.

To identify Carter, Eaton told the jury, "the best lead that we had was a very specific tattoo on the back of the victim."

They circulated a photo of the tattoo with detention officers, but had no luck. They checked with local tattoo parlors. Still no luck.

Then, after the tattoo aired on a local news station at 11 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2009, about 16 hours after Carter's body was found, they received a call from the victim's family.

Armed with a name, they looked into where Carter lived and any property she owned. They found a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse registered in her name. The location of the vehicle was unknown.

Officers decided to huddle up at a "central location" at the former Huddle House in a truck stop near exit 44 on Asheville Highway around 2:40 a.m. There, detectives stumbled on Carter's parked Eclipse.

"Sometimes you get lucky," Eaton said.

They reviewed surveillance footage at the truck stop for any clue as to how the vehicle got there and when and how it arrived, Eaton said. Time lapses in filming from the motion-activated cameras limited the material they could study, but they found something.

The surveillance footage showed Carter's car being driven through the parking lot before 3 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 19, 2009, Eaton said. It was the only evidence they gleaned from the footage.

Detectives were unable to tell who was driving or exactly where it parked. But peering through the windows of the locked car after the murder, officers spotted a matchstick, like the ones near Carter's body, on the vehicle's front seat and possible blood on the front passenger's seat.

"One of the most distinctive, immediately recognizable traits of the car was that it was covered in mud," Eaton added.

Investigators obtained a search warrant and had the car towed to the State Bureau of Investigation western crime lab for processing.

"Canvassing the two residences that Ms. Carter had recently lived at with the information that we had at the time, we located a residence at 52 Piney Ridge Court" on Oct. 20, 2009, Eaton said.

Investigators noticed that the driveway of the home, which Glover and Carter shared, had "deteriorated into mud," Eaton added. "There were deep ruts through the mud that appeared, in my experience, to be fresh mud tracks."

Tracks of mud

Another search warrant and several hours later, detectives entered the home and found a trail of mud leading to a laundry room. In the washing machine, Eaton said, they found a pair of black denim jeans — newly laundered — with a matchstick poking out of its front pocket.

The match was similar to others Eaton said they found around Carter's body on the parkway.

Photos of two different tire tracks outside the home and dozens of shots from inside and outside the residence were shown to the jury.

Eaton said he also photographed a couch and loveseat in the living room. The couch was draped with a white blanket or bedspread.

When the couch and loveseat were repossessed by a local Rent-A-Center, the left-side couch cushion was missing. An SBI agent testified Thursday that he found a blood stain underneath where the cushion would have been.

Eaton testified that all three cushions were present when they searched the home on Oct. 20, but they did not remove the blanket for a closer look in their first search. It was not until a later inspection of the photos that they noticed the left cushion appeared to be missing its upholstery the day they photographed it, he told the jury.

In the center of the kitchen floor, Eaton said, they found a small piece of fabric like a disposable tie that looked similar to a tie they found securing a black plastic material around the Carter's head.

"It was very significant," Eaton said.

In the laundry room, he added, they recovered a piece of black plastic material "from the washing machine." It was bagged as evidence and sent to the SBI lab to test for accelerants.

A forensic pathologist testified Wednesday that black plastic material and white blanket were wrapped around Carter's head before she was set on fire. The material was "embedded" with hair and "soaked with petroleum," Eaton said.

Mud not a match

Eaton estimated that more than 20 officers were at the house in the first search, but everyone who entered the residence wore protective coverings over their shoes and gloves to protect the integrity of the scene.

"It's true, is it not, that the mud from Misty Carter's car was sent for a comparison with mud taken from Mr. Glover's driveway with some mud from one of the decks?" defense attorney Greg Newman asked Eaton.

"From the driveway, vehicle and the deck, yes sir," Eaton said.

Newman probed the results of the mud test from a Federal Bureau of Investigations crime lab.

"It's true that there was no match between the mud?" he asked.

"Without referring to the report itself, I believe that's correct. I don't know what specific language was used, but no, it did not establish that those items were a match," Eaton said.

Assistant District Attorney Doug Pearson asked if the exact wording of the test result was "not conclusive." Eaton said that sounded right.

Newman asked if Eaton noticed any drag marks in the mud. No, he said, but there were a "lot of tracks of movement in the mud." None were clear footprints, he added.

Newman asked if blood was found on any clothing at the home during the first search in October.

"No sir," Eaton answered.

Any blood on any of the shoes in the house? Newman asked.

"No," Eaton answered. "We physically examined a lot of items in the house looking for blood and we did not find any."

Newman pointed out that they did find a composition book in the master bedroom, which he said contained letters to Carter from a man named Steve Green. He submitted a copy of the book as defense exhibit 1.

Eaton testified that no one was home when they arrived to search the residence on Oct. 20, 2009.

On a second search of the home on Nov. 18, 2009, Eaton said he noticed the couch and loveseat were missing, along with a stove from a kitchen and bed from a back bedroom. Detectives seized two unopened boxes of black garbage bags from the laundry room, along with a partial box of stick matches from a desk drawer and other items.

<p>A clue of a tattoo and a bit of luck helped detectives in their search for a suspect in the murder of 21-year-old mother-to-be Misty Lynn Carter, whose body was found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2009. </p><p>They had 48 hours to crack the case before it would start to grow cold, Detective Jeff Eaton of the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office testified Friday. After about 24 or 48 hours, he said, evidence starts to "perish." </p><p>Within 48 hours, the detectives had the victim and her car and had entered the home she shared with 39-year-old Jermaine Deprie Glover, now charged with first-degree murder.</p><p>To identify Carter, Eaton told the jury, "the best lead that we had was a very specific tattoo on the back of the victim."</p><p>They circulated a photo of the tattoo with detention officers, but had no luck. They checked with local tattoo parlors. Still no luck.</p><p>Then, after the tattoo aired on a local news station at 11 p.m. on Oct. 19, 2009, about 16 hours after Carter's body was found, they received a call from the victim's family. </p><p>Armed with a name, they looked into where Carter lived and any property she owned. They found a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse registered in her name. The location of the vehicle was unknown.</p><p>Officers decided to huddle up at a "central location" at the former Huddle House in a truck stop near exit 44 on Asheville Highway around 2:40 a.m. There, detectives stumbled on Carter's parked Eclipse.</p><p>"Sometimes you get lucky," Eaton said.</p><p>They reviewed surveillance footage at the truck stop for any clue as to how the vehicle got there and when and how it arrived, Eaton said. Time lapses in filming from the motion-activated cameras limited the material they could study, but they found something.</p><p>The surveillance footage showed Carter's car being driven through the parking lot before 3 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 19, 2009, Eaton said. It was the only evidence they gleaned from the footage.</p><p>Detectives were unable to tell who was driving or exactly where it parked. But peering through the windows of the locked car after the murder, officers spotted a matchstick, like the ones near Carter's body, on the vehicle's front seat and possible blood on the front passenger's seat. </p><p>"One of the most distinctive, immediately recognizable traits of the car was that it was covered in mud," Eaton added. </p><p>Investigators obtained a search warrant and had the car towed to the State Bureau of Investigation western crime lab for processing.</p><p>"Canvassing the two residences that Ms. Carter had recently lived at with the information that we had at the time, we located a residence at 52 Piney Ridge Court" on Oct. 20, 2009, Eaton said. </p><p>Investigators noticed that the driveway of the home, which Glover and Carter shared, had "deteriorated into mud," Eaton added. "There were deep ruts through the mud that appeared, in my experience, to be fresh mud tracks."</p><p><b>Tracks of mud</b></p><p>Another search warrant and several hours later, detectives entered the home and found a trail of mud leading to a laundry room. In the washing machine, Eaton said, they found a pair of black denim jeans — newly laundered — with a matchstick poking out of its front pocket. </p><p>The match was similar to others Eaton said they found around Carter's body on the parkway. </p><p>Photos of two different tire tracks outside the home and dozens of shots from inside and outside the residence were shown to the jury. </p><p>Eaton said he also photographed a couch and loveseat in the living room. The couch was draped with a white blanket or bedspread. </p><p>When the couch and loveseat were repossessed by a local Rent-A-Center, the left-side couch cushion was missing. An SBI agent testified Thursday that he found a blood stain underneath where the cushion would have been. </p><p>Eaton testified that all three cushions were present when they searched the home on Oct. 20, but they did not remove the blanket for a closer look in their first search. It was not until a later inspection of the photos that they noticed the left cushion appeared to be missing its upholstery the day they photographed it, he told the jury.</p><p>In the center of the kitchen floor, Eaton said, they found a small piece of fabric like a disposable tie that looked similar to a tie they found securing a black plastic material around the Carter's head.</p><p>"It was very significant," Eaton said. </p><p>In the laundry room, he added, they recovered a piece of black plastic material "from the washing machine." It was bagged as evidence and sent to the SBI lab to test for accelerants.</p><p>A forensic pathologist testified Wednesday that black plastic material and white blanket were wrapped around Carter's head before she was set on fire. The material was "embedded" with hair and "soaked with petroleum," Eaton said.</p><p><b>Mud not a match</b></p><p>Eaton estimated that more than 20 officers were at the house in the first search, but everyone who entered the residence wore protective coverings over their shoes and gloves to protect the integrity of the scene.</p><p>"It's true, is it not, that the mud from Misty Carter's car was sent for a comparison with mud taken from Mr. Glover's driveway with some mud from one of the decks?" defense attorney Greg Newman asked Eaton.</p><p>"From the driveway, vehicle and the deck, yes sir," Eaton said.</p><p>Newman probed the results of the mud test from a Federal Bureau of Investigations crime lab. </p><p>"It's true that there was no match between the mud?" he asked. </p><p>"Without referring to the report itself, I believe that's correct. I don't know what specific language was used, but no, it did not establish that those items were a match," Eaton said.</p><p>Assistant District Attorney Doug Pearson asked if the exact wording of the test result was "not conclusive." Eaton said that sounded right. </p><p>Newman asked if Eaton noticed any drag marks in the mud. No, he said, but there were a "lot of tracks of movement in the mud." None were clear footprints, he added.</p><p>Newman asked if blood was found on any clothing at the home during the first search in October. </p><p>"No sir," Eaton answered.</p><p>Any blood on any of the shoes in the house? Newman asked. </p><p>"No," Eaton answered. "We physically examined a lot of items in the house looking for blood and we did not find any."</p><p>Newman pointed out that they did find a composition book in the master bedroom, which he said contained letters to Carter from a man named Steve Green. He submitted a copy of the book as defense exhibit 1.</p><p>Eaton testified that no one was home when they arrived to search the residence on Oct. 20, 2009. </p><p>On a second search of the home on Nov. 18, 2009, Eaton said he noticed the couch and loveseat were missing, along with a stove from a kitchen and bed from a back bedroom. Detectives seized two unopened boxes of black garbage bags from the laundry room, along with a partial box of stick matches from a desk drawer and other items.</p><p>The trial is scheduled to resume Monday morning. </p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>